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San Francisco Giants Legends Gaylord Perry #36 and Will Clark (R) stand talking with each other on San Francisco Giants Legends Day before an MLB baseball game between the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants June 11, 2011 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Former San Francisco Giants first baseman Will Clark #22 signs autographs for kids before a game between the Houston Astros and the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on August 28, 2011 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Tony Medina/Getty Images)

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Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker, left, greets San Francisco Giants hitting coach Will Clark during their team workout at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, Oct. 5, 2012. The Reds face the San Francisco Giants on Saturday in the first game of the National League Division Series. (Jane Tyska/Staff)

(L-R) Ryne Sandberg #23 of the Chicago Cubs, Bobby Bonilla #25 of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Will Clark #22 of the San Francisco Giants look on during batting practice prior to the1991 All-Star Game at the Toronto Sky Dome on July 9, 1991 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

Former San Francisco Giants Will Clark prepares to throw out the first pitch before the Giants game against the Washington Nationals for Game 3 of baseball's NL Division Series at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 6, 2014. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Jayson Werth #28 of the Washington Nationals talks to San Francisco Giants former first baseman and Administration Special Assistant Will Clark prior to Game Three of the National League Division Series at AT&T Park on October 6, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

The San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean hugs former Giant Will Clark after they defeat the Texas Rangers during game 5 of the 2010 World Series on Monday, Nov. 1, 2010, at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas. San Francisco defeated Texas 3-1. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff)

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Will Clark went back to college last week. Not to complete a degree-gone-dormant. And not to settle a decades-old parking fine. And not because he just happened to be in the neighborhood.

He came to be honored along with former Mississippi State teammate Rafael Palmeiro to celebrate the recommissioning of the school’s baseball stadium — Dudy Noble Field.

The locals call it The Dude.

The makeover, according to the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, cost $68 million. And it included — are you ready for this? — larger than life bronze statues of Clark and Palmeiro, who were teammates there for three years. Palmeiro, a three-time All-American, was the first Triple Crown winner in SEC history. Clark was awarded the Golden Spikes Award in 1985 as the best amateur baseball player in the country.

They were called Thunder and Lightning. Per the Clarion Ledger, “Athletic director John Cohen called them the best tandem in baseball history — even better than New York Yankees greats Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.”

Hey, what’s a rollicking civic celebration without someone opening a big ol’ can of hyperbole?

“Who’s Thunder and Lightning?” Palmeiro said at the unveiling ceremony, pointing toward Clark. “He’s both. He was awesome.”

“What an unbelievable honor,” Clark said. “One of the top things that’s ever happened to me in my life. To see the bronze version in front of the stadium, it tugged at your heart pretty hard.”

The sculptor absolutely nailed Clark, decked out in eye black and in full follow-through. A cousin of mine called Clark’s follow-through “The Cape” because it evoked images of a bullfighter swirling his cape with flamboyance that belies the difficulty of the task at hand. That same cousin named his dog “Nuschler” in honor of Clark’s unique middle name.

Which begs the question, will the Giants ever plant a larger-than-life tribute in honor of a player that was, for a scintillating but fleeting time, larger than life on his own? Barry Bonds will be next. That’s just the way it is. And that will make six statues on the grounds of Oracle Park. Clark would be seven. Too much?

It’s doubtful Clark will wind up in the Hall of Fame. He never won an MVP (though four times he was in the top 5). He didn’t hit eleventy billion home runs. Though he had more than a few consequential moments during eight years with the Giants..

But this is Clark’s true Giants’ legacy: He was drafted in 1985 during the losingest season the Giants have ever had. He was Rookie of the Year in 1986. He was the face of the franchise in 1987, when the Giants won their division for the first time in 16 years, and in 1989 when the Giants went to their first World Series in 27 years.

To a generation of fans, my cousin included, Clark was their guy. No honorariums or ciphers on a page does his time in San Francisco justice. You had to be there.

So maybe that doesn’t merit a statue on the shores of McCovey Cove. But it’s worth remembering that The Cape is forever parked outside The Dude, and that is not to be confused for a consolation prize.

Gary Peterson is a sports writer for the Bay Area News Group. His prior assignments included 31 years as a sports columnist, serving as a general assignment news reporter, covering courts and writing a metro column before finding his way back to sports.

Pro sports are massively profitable and valuable endeavors. The combined value of the 123 teams in four major U.S. pro sports is almost $200 billion, according to Forbes magazines. So what seem to be “mega” athlete contracts, in reality, won’t break the sports bank.